Coming to America: 11 Big Name Predecessors to Beckham in MLS

So David Beckham has arrived in MLS to change the league forever. And why not? For everything that’s been written and said about this move – by experts and ESPN employees alike – it’s undoubtedly a positive for MLS, the very best thing the league could possibly have done in 2007.

But amid all the Beckhamania it’s worth remembering that he’s not the first big name to come and play in MLS. He’s probably not even the best player to have done so. Here’s a quick look back at 11 players who arrived in MLS prior to the Designated Player rule with big reputations and met with varying degrees of success (cough, Lothar Matthäus)…

Branco
Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal was the Roberto Carlos before there was a Roberto Carlos. A Brazilian left back with a deadly left foot, he was part of the 1994 World Cup winning team. He arrived at the New York Metrostars in 1997 looking a little overweight, but only appeared 11 times before retiring. Did manage a goal though.

Youri Djorkaeff
Djorkaeff had already won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships with France, as well as a sparkling club career encompasing Monaco,PSG, Inter Milan, Kaiserslauten and a surprisingly successful spell at Bolton Wanderers. He joined the Metrostars in 2005, aged 37. Had a great first season in New York, and was named the team MVP. But his second season was marred by an impromptu mid-MLS season trip to watch France play Brazil at the 2006 World Cup, which apparently he didn’t realized would be televized. In Djorkaeff’s defence he claims he was visiting his sick mother. Between that and an ankle injury his 2006 season petered out and Djorkaeff hung up his boots.

Roberto Donadoni
Yet another Mertostars signing, and a right midfielder like Beckham. Donadoni was an Italian international and part of several great AC Milan sides from 1986 to 19996. He had two good years in MLS in ‘96 and ‘97 but it’s fair to say that he was too good for his teammates in the early MLS. He was named to the All-Star XI in 1996 though, and even returned to Milan to win another Serie A title in the 1997/8 season.

Marco Etcheverry
El Diablo may be the best Bolivian player of all time. He’s fairly unique in that after achieving fame in South America through his appearances on the Bolivian national team and with club sides in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador (plus a brief spell in Spain) he spent his peak years in MLS between 1996 and 2003, all at DC United. 101 assists in 119 games is no mean feat.

Luis Hernández
El Matador had been the leading scorer at the 1997 Copa America, and scored four goals for Mexico at France ‘98. A brief spell at Boca Juniors was followed by goal-filled spells at Mexican league clubs Necaxa and Tigres, before MLS signed him in 2000 for a reported $4 million. It was expected that the new LA Galaxy player would increase attendances, especially with Californian Mexican-Americans, butu despite a decent scoring record he was back in Mexico with Club America by 2001. Let’s hope Cuauhtemoc Blanco has more luck.

Anders Limpar
The skillful Swedish winger is famous in England for his successful spell at Arsenal from 1990-1994 and is fondly remembered by Everton fans as part of the 1995 FA Cup winning team. He was also a key part of the Swedish national team that reached the 1994 World Cup semi-finals in the USA. Joined the Colorado Rapids in 1999, and had two decent seasons though he was clearly past his prime and retired in 2001. Among other things he now runs a bar in Stockholm called The Limp Bar.

Lothar Matthäus
Matthäus was probably the most complete midfielder of his generation. He was the midfield general at both Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, and led Germany to a World Cup win in 1990, played in 5 World Cups and 4 European Championships. But he was rubbish in MLS. Signed by Metrostars (them again) in 2000 aged 38. He played one season, mostly as a sweeper, possibly in an attempt to mimic the later career of Franz Beckenbauer. But he looked disinterested and failed to be the on-field leader Metrostars fans were expecting. Then, after suffering a back injuey he claimed he needed to go back to Germany for treatment but was spotted lounging around on a St. Tropez beach.

Thomas Ravelli
The Swedish keeper achieved fame at the 1994 World Cup (seems many of these players joined MLS due to happy memories at USA ‘94) where he saved two Romanian penalties to send Sweden into the semis. He played one season with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny in 1998. Unfortunately, he’ll mostly be remembered for the $5,000 fine and six game suspension he received for kicking the ball at a referee who awarded a penalty against his team. Though at least it showed he cared.

Hristo Stoichkov
Stoichkov is yet another who lit up the ‘94 World Cup, but the Bulgarian striker was most famous for his fantastic spell at Barcelona. Between 1998 and 2002 he spent two years at Chicago Fire and two at DC United. Like Ravelli, he was involved in a nasty incident where he broke the leg of Freddy Llerena (a college player) with a horrible tackle. He got a $2,000 fine and a two game ban and apparently Llerena is still looking to sue him. That aside, Stoichkov was relatively successful, notching a few goals for Chicago, though he was getting on a bit during his DC days and retired after the 2002 season.

Carlos Valderrama
Easily one of the world’s most recognizable footballers, the blonde mop-headed Colombian playmaker is arguably the most successful of all the big name MLS imports to date. In 6 MLS seasons he played with Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion and Colorado Rapids. He never got above walking pace but that was always his style and until this week he was the all time MLS assist leader with 114 assists.

Walter Zenga
The legendary Italian keeper, formerly of Inter Milan, Sampdoria and the Italian national team arrived as a 37 year old MLS rookie in 1997, and still looked top class playing for the New England Revolution, even though he insisted on wearing a baseball cap. Definitely added some quality to the league, though he was constantly distracted by his girlfriend, even nearly conceding a goal to Tampa Bay when he vacated his goal to kiss her after the Revs scored. Zenga and girlfriend left MLS in 1998 to pursue an acting career in Italy before returning to New England for half a season in 1999 as player-coach.

Much of the above is based on internet research (yay Wikipedia!) so if anyone has some more first hand information (particularly on Stoichkov’s MLS career) or disagrees with any of these accounts (maybe you thought Herr Matthäus was a raging success, who knows) please feel free to share in the comments.

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Category: MLS, World Football